One of two defendants facing bribery charges in the wake of a viral video that allegedly showed a Division of Fish and Wildlife officer paying a bribe to enter the Grotto after operating hours now claims that the video was a \u201cprank.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marvin Rodney Pangelinan, an officer of the CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife, and co-defendant Ji Jing Borja were recently charged with two counts of bribery. According to the information filed with the Superior Court, Pangelinan allegedly accepted a bribe from Borja. The charges came after a video allegedly showing Borja paying Pangelinan $100 to gain access to Grotto after hours circulated on social media. Pangelinan has since denied the allegation. <\/p>\n
In a recent statement from Borja, he claims that the video was a prank and that it was just meant to \u201cscare\u201d Pangelinan into paying him back for borrowing money from him. <\/p>\n
He explained that he was not paying Pangelinan to access the Grotto and that Pangelinan never asked him for payment to enter Grotto. <\/p>\n
\u201cOn Feb. 12, Pangelinan from Fish and Wildlife was asking to borrow $200 from me. I wanted to help him but I don\u2019t like him because he is the only Fish and Wildlife employee who brings a handgun to show off. So I decided to help him but also [to make sure] he doesn\u2019t take advantage of me or others, I decided to make a prank video to teach him a small lesson by making up this story. This story was made up,\u201d he stated. <\/p>\n
The video, however, later reached DFW officials and the Office of the Attorney General, which filed the bribery charges against the two men. <\/p>\n
Borja also insists he is a licensed diving instructor and runs a legitimate diving business, with 10 years\u2019 experience, contrary to allegations that he is an \u201cunlicensed tourist guide operator.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to court information, the OAG charged Pangelinan and Borja in Superior Court, alleging that Borja paid Pangelinan $100 so that Borja could run his business at the Grotto without proper documentation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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